From Catholic to Sufi Ways of Knowing

The Sisters (of Charity, not Perpetual Indulgence) were in town last weekend to bear witness at Peterson Air Force Base, and at the N-8 missile silo where Carl Kabat was arrested August 6. There's a wonderful speech by Sister Louise Lears, in four parts at my YouTube library, that got me thinking about how Catholic ritual intersects with activism. Just as interesting was the skit by Donna Johnson and MaryLynn Sheetz, featuring the two nuns, Edna and Loodeen, which they regularly reprise at every annual Sisters Witness Against War. This year's was particularly interesting, with a "Mental Floss" presentation featuring the super-sized puppet, Sister Prophylaxis, otherwise known as Diana Floss:




There's also a wonderful First Strike Theatre spoken-word piece on truth decay. On Saturday, we had a gathering up near New Raymer, Colorado at the N-8 silo, with a surprise visit from Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa, publishers of The Nuclear Resister in Tucson - they happened to be in the neighborhood for a family reunion (and this was boondocks).



Since I was never one for the Catholic guilt ritual after Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, I got a different spiritual purge on Tuesday by listening to more Sufi-influenced work by Ben Chasny and his friends in Six Organs of Admittance. This time around, Luminous Night, they include violinist Eyvind Kang and flautist Hans Teuber, but do not include the incomparable Elisa Ambrogio of Magik Markers, who was around for the last couple Six Organs rides. Here's a Village Voice page bringing us up to date with both Elisa and Ben, and here's a video from the last album:

Sister Barbara Says Goodbye

Close to 100 people came to John Bourbonais' house Oct. 1 to say goodbye to Sister Barbara Huber, who is heading to El Paso for health reasons. (That's John B. introducing Barbara for a "this is your life" presentation.) Barbara has been a staple in the Colorado Springs peace community since the 1970s, and I've worked with her on all kinds of campaigns since 1990. She's been instrumental in Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission, Active for Justice, and Pax Christi. Others hope to carry on important projects she initiated, like the Aug. 6 Sisters Witness Against War, but no one will ever be able to take her place.